


Hope will Never Die

by kazeshinobi



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Angst, Bad end, Gen, Nohr | Conquest Route, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 23:25:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13937676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazeshinobi/pseuds/kazeshinobi
Summary: Conquest [Bad End]: When Corrin is imprisoned by Garon for treason and Xander visits her the night before her execution.





	Hope will Never Die

How had it come to this; where the cheerful little girl who had begged him for piggybacks and pulled on his hair now behind bars and him standing on the other side? But she was no longer a little girl anymore; there was sadness and deep melancholy etched into her sharp face as her crimson eyes stared back at him. She looked like she had suffered through eons of struggle, though the dull resignation lurking there scared him more than anything.

“Xander” she said softy, inclining her head towards him.

“…Corrin” he replied, slightly relieved his voice did not waver or betray him.

She smiled sadly at him.

“Always so serious…but I’m happy to see you, at least, have not changed. I am so very glad I got to see you this last time.”

His heart clenched in fear at her words. So, she had accepted her fate. And yet…

“Corrin…don’t you hate us? After everything you've done, after being locked away, after my father’s sentence, how can you possibly smile at me like that?!“

Xander realized he had begun to shout and blushed crimson, trying to organize his thoughts into a more cohesive manner. But she simply smiled that resigned, dull smile at him again.

“Xander…these last few months have been chaotic, I know. But my feelings have not changed. I still love Nohr and you as well, brother.”

_Brother._

She called him brother. If she had pulled a knife out and stabbed him in the gut, it still would have hurt less than this, this horrible THING, feeling, emotion crawling into his chest. He wanted to retch, he wanted to cry, he felt dizzy, he had to do something, he HAD TO DO SOMETHIN-

“Xander, you don’t wa-“

“You have to get out of here!” he blurted out, eyes shifting for a weakness in the bars, trying to remember the face of the guard who had the key. Should he drug the guard and steal the keys? Try to open the doors by force? Father be damned, he couldn't-

“Xander!” she implored, raising her voice. He looked up, his manic train of thought being interrupted. She was smiling that same defeated smile again.  He felt bloodless and sweaty, despite it being in the midst of winter.

“The other three all offered the same thing. And I rejected them each in turn. I am facing my future, as you must to yours” she murmured.

“Then, why?!” he demanded, furious at this hopeless waiting of her demise.

“I do not know what has overcome your father… whether this is his true colours, or he has lost his wits; even possession? I do not know why, but he has become a bloodthirsty madman. One day, he must be challenged, for the good of both Nohr and Hoshido. And I hope dearly that one of you four will be the one to do it. You are all compassionate; you have no love for death and treated me as one of your own for years. This is the legacy we need for Nohr, not this wretched trail of blood!” she exclaimed, her eyes suddenly alighted with a familiar spark.

“This ‘wretched trail of blood’ will continue if you die tomorrow!” he roared back, blatantly ignoring how true these words of treason resonated in his heart.

“But I WILL die alone! I will not have you, or any of the others be killed trying to save me! You are the FUTURE of Nohr, the one that we need so desperately!” she implored, eyes burning into his.

“If I know, walking to the gallows tomorrow, that you and the others will continue to work towards a brighter future for Nohr… I will go peacefully. I’ve done all I can… it’s u-up to you now, Xander.”

Fat tears had started rolling down her face throughout the speech and Xander found his own eyes clouded in despair. She reached out a familiar, skinny arm  through the bars which he took in his own two hands gently, rubbing his thumb slowly over the back. Her soft, small hand was dwarfed in his large calloused palms. And together, they started to sob.

For everything they had lost.

For a future without each other.

For their siblings who heard their father order the death of one of their own.

For themselves.

He was her big brother. Her protector, her prince, her knight in shining armor! And he was leaving her to  _die._ He could not defy this, despite his foolish desire to sweep her out of the cell and carry her off to safety. She had chosen to act against the King. This was the end of it all.

After their tears had finally run dry, a dreary silence filled the wretched cell. Xander knew his visit would be over soon and the next time he’d see her…

He swallowed the bile in his throat. He could do _nothing_ to save her now.

“Corrin… is there… anything else you wish?” he enquired, leaning forward towards her.

“You may have already made sure of this, but I…I don’t want Elise to see what happens tomorrow” she murmured, eyes downcast.

“Y-yes… I’ve made arrangements with Gunter. She won’t see anything, I promise” he replied solemnly. There was no way he was going to let his little sister watch what was happening tomorrow. She may be living in a time of war, but some things… some things even the most hardened of warriors had trouble stomaching. He himself had spent every night since the judgement rolling in his bed, tormented by the idea of watching Corrin's final walk up to the gallows. Neither of them wanted that for young, sweet Elise. He had tried to arrange something similar for Leo, though he had nearly gotten punched in the face for it.

“I owe it to her to see it, I won’t abandon Corrin!” his little brother had hissed, eyes sparking with furious tears and Xander, so taken aback with the emotion shown by the usually stoic boy, did not press further.

He hadn't talked to Camilla yet. He was dreading it immensely.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear the royal guards approaching the dingy cell until the door was unceremoniously thrown open.

“Time’s up! Her Highness needs to get her royal beauty sleep for tomorrow!” one of the guards cackled, throwing an ugly sneer towards the woman in the cell.

Xander fought down the raging urge to punch the man there and then, instead turning towards Corrin one last time. She still looked haunted… but the resignation there had transformed, giving way to calm acceptance after their heart to heart. She gave him one last, real smile that was so familiar and dear to him his heart constricted painfully once again. It was so nostalgic, all he could see was the 10 year old who had called him her hero with wide trusting eyes.

“Until tomorrow then, brother.”

He ignored the derisive snorts of the guards at her words. He was the King’s son yes, but he was also her brother. And he would spend every day of the rest of his life working towards the future she had fought and eventually die for.

If that was the work of a traitor, then they were traitors together in this life and the next.

“Until tomorrow, sister.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't write much these days, but I found an old work while cleaning up my blog that never ended up here. It's old and I had to relocalise all the names, so let me know if I missed some!


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